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A company run by Osama bin Laden’s family has been shortlisted to construct the world’s tallest building, according to officials in Dubai. The Saudi Binladin Group – one of the largest businesses in the Middle East – is the only Arab company bidding for the contract, the latest in a series of extraordinary projects in the tiny Gulf emirate. At 2,313ft (705 metres), the Burj Dubai tower will be al most twice the height of the World Trade Centre destroyed by supporters of the family’s renegade offspring in 2001. It will also outstrip the world’s current tallest building, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by more than 800ft (250 metres). Designed by American architects, the skyscraper’s geometry “reflects the six-petal desert flower of the region”, says its developer, Emaar Properties. Full Story